How an Algorithm Really Works

June 8th, 2010 |

Time and again I have been asked about the Google algorithm, and why one site gets listed ahead of another. How does that algorithm work, and what the heck is it! The bottom line question is always asking what does my site need to change in order for my site to rise into the top listings on the first page of results.

Well, an algorithm is a very complicated mathematical equation, that provides a scoring system for the engines to rank sites. No one really knows exactly how Google goes through their ranking system, or what the algorithm actually is, but there are some basics to it all. I think of their ranking as have two functions, one is to look at the page itself, the code and content, and rank that according to a set of standards they developed. Second is their PageRank system, which looks at and analyzes the inbound links to your site. This is a very unique, and successful, method to determine which web page deserves to be listed at the top of the listings.

Larry Page, founder of Google, developed an algorithm while in college at Stanford University which is known as PageRank. This algorithm scores or values links pointing at your site from elsewhere on the web and all the on-site elements as well. The overall process assigns a score to your site that is relevant to the overall popularity of your site, as a whole, and in comparison to other sites.

The basic pages of your site are ranking in the same fashion that inbound links have a scoring system. Google claims they look at 100 items in your site to provide your site with a score. It is somewhat a comparison of your site to others, but mainly what is exactly on your site, both on-page and off. If your keywords evolve around tennis balls, and you have links pointing at your that use the keyword phrase tennis balls, you are well along the way to having a decent rank for tennis balls.

That is the basics of the algorithm. There is neither space nor time to explain it in complete detail here, not will I even try to express that I know all about it and understand it. If I did, I’d no doubt be sipping some fruity drink on a warm tropical beach right now instead of writing this article about algorithms!

To take any effort to market your site online to the next level you will need to get some training in search engine optimization (SEO) in order to know what to do to your site so that the algorithms find it search engine friendly. You can learn SEO online by taking a course in SEO. You can also frequent all the blogs and forums and over a period of time absorb a lot of information. I always suggest people search for ethical optimization firms because it is so easy to do something wrong and get yourself banned or even blacklisted. Overall, optimization is fairly easy to do once you have learned what it is the search engines are looking for.